Why Choose Lift-and-Slide Doors?

Homeowners are increasingly looking to incorporate large swathes of glazing into their self build or extension to create a more open, brighter living space.

While conventional bifolds and sliders can help you achieve this, large lift-and-slide doors can often give you the desired results with added advantages.

The benefits of lift-and-slide doors

These glazed units have a better glass-to-frame ratio compared to other systems, such as bifolds, so you benefit from much more light and uninterrupted views out.

Some systems also support stylish frameless glass-to-glass corners or can be combined with fixed glazing, without compromising thermal insulation. Plus, having so little frame means there’s fewer opportunities for cold thermal bridging, or for things to go wrong.

You can also open your home when the weather allows, creating a seamless transition between outdoor and indoor living. Not only that, they, also provide uninterrupted views into your garden, or if you are lucky enough, across the countryside.

This lift-and-slide door abuts fixed panes that create a glazed corner, offering panoramic views across the rural landscape. When open, the door provides an instant connection to the outside

The advantage of lift-and-slide doors over sliders is that there is no contact between the ceiling gasket and the frame when lifting the sliding panel; so, you get smooth, effortless operation.

This is particularly helpful with heavy, oversized panels, as there’s no friction or resistance when opening and closing the doors – like you might find with standard sliding doors.

Getting the right spec

Try to buy the best performing product for your budget, as lower quality options might not provide you with the standards that you require to futureproof your home. Especially with increasing energy costs, it is important to focus in on thermal performance, airtightness, manufacturing quality and warranties.

If you are looking to build a low energy home or to Passivhaus standards, then the glazing products you choose become even more important. Sound reduction should also be a considered when your home is in an urban area as the right products will make a dramatic difference to your quality of living.

Performance values are becoming increasingly important as building regulations change and we are all tasked with reducing our carbon footprint. So don’t buy cheap but do your research and consider buying triple-glazed lift-and-slide doors as an investment, which you can enjoy for many years to come.

Frame materials

The stronger and more robust the frame, the better the performance and durability of the door as a whole.

The material you go for will depend on your personal preference, interior design, and external architecture, as well as performance.

The main options are timber, aluminium, PVCu, or a composite mix of two materials.

Internorm has developed window systems that allow you can realise your dream for an open living concept. The ease of Internorm lift-sliding doors, and their extra low thresholds, increase your living comfort.

Internorm’s composite PVCu-aluminium and timber-aluminium lift-and-slide doors provide you with a wide choice of colours for the external powder coated aluminium cladding, which can be matched to other windows in the house. Timber is a natural, sustainable option for the inside packed with inherent charm to create a beautiful, high-quality finish that’s very thermally efficient.

Technical considerations

Large areas of glazing also bring their challenges; overheating can be an issue in the summer, especially on south and west facing elevations. You can mitigate this by designing in roof overhangs or external blind systems that regulate the amount of sunlight entering.

Intelligent shading systems can even be integrated into a smart home system which can track the indoor temperature, so the blinds drop when the mercury climbs too high.

Market-leading high-quality triple-glazed lift-and-slide doors like those from Internorm, will provide you with superior thermal and acoustic performance, as well as outstanding security, which is another important factor when choosing glazed doors.

Special glass coatings will further enhance the light transmission and brighten up even the darkest corners of your house.